The race to see which retail giant can get more to the consumer’s door faster is officially heating up just in time for summer vacation. Amazon announced today (June 3) that over 10 million products are now eligible for free one-day Prime delivery.
The announcement follows Walmart’s news of three weeks ago that it would be offering free-next day shipping on about 200,000 products in select U.S. cities. That news followed Amazon’s announcement during its latest earnings release that the official direction of Prime shopping would be free next day delivery for members whenever and wherever possible.
The “wherever” part, however is a bit hazy still — as Amazon has not specified which markets have a one-day shipping option available. Amazon has only said the offer spans “coast-to-coast.” Amazon also has no official timeline as to when one-day shipping will become standard operating procedure for all Prime members.
According to reports, Amazon is loading up the one-day shipping offer with popular items and categories like beauty products, cleaning supplies and beach towels. Ten million is, however a small serving of the over 100 million items available for free two-day delivery to Prime members. Amazon spokeswoman Julie Law said Amazon is seeking the same kind of growth for next-day delivery.
In mid-May, Walmart said it began offering free next-day delivery in Phoenix, Las Vegas and Southern California, but only for orders costing $35 or more. It said it would expand the option to 40 of the top 50 U.S. metro areas later this year. Walmart does not require membership, while Amazon Prime costs $119 per year.
“We don’t put a lot of time and energy or focus into competitors because it can be distracting to being innovative for customers,” Law said. “We believe what we are offering to Prime members today is unmatched.”
It seems Walmart, however, is very aware of what it’s competitor is doing, and is work quite hard to make sure that no matter what Amazon rolls out, it will be hard to say it is unmatched.
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